Boston Celtics’ Jabari Parker replacement: James Ennis
It’s somewhat puzzling James Ennis is still a free agent after the season he just had in 2020-21 as a member of the Orlando Magic.
Ennis had a 47/43/80 shooting split for a rebuilding franchise that shuffled the deck in a major way midseason. Orlando dealt star Nikola Vucevic and borderline star Aaron Gordon ahead of the trade deadline, signaling a shift towards tanking down the stretch of last season.
Ennis clearly didn’t get the memo, shooting the ball as well as he did since a nine-game stretch with the New Orleans Pelicans at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Throughout his career, Ennis has provided a steady hand for postseason squads like Houston, Philadelphia, and Orlando. At 31-years-old, the 2013 second-round pick is best on a team with ambitions of contending.
Now, Jabari Parker’s role isn’t one we see Ennis directly replacing. Ideally, Parker would be getting minutes at the 4, but the surplus of wings on the Cs may dictate a lion’s share of minutes at power forward for Jayson Tatum and even some double-big lineups with Al Horford at PF as well.
Parker’s veteran role on the bench is one we’d rather see Ennis have, especially given the difference in injury history between the injury-prone Parker and historically healthy Ennis.